Bucs give fans plenty to see in final open workout

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' final open workout at One Buc Place on Tuesday was just like many of the others staged in front of their fans during training camp.

There were exciting moments, such as receiver Mike Williams snatching a ball away from safety Mark Barron to earn a first down on a fourth-and-15 play during a two-minute drill.

But there also were some sloppy moments.

Dropped punt returns, a fumble and another rash of penalties punctuated the workout. One day after coach Greg Schiano ripped into his team for such mistakes, he refused to apologize for the Bucs' quality of play.

"It's not going to look pretty right now, that's just the way it is,'' he said. "But the goal is to be ready Sept. 9 and the rest of the season. The goal is not about Friday night."

Tampa Bay plays its preseason home opener against the Titans on Friday at Raymond James Stadium.

"We'll go out and play our tails off on Friday night, but we're training through the event. That's how we do it.''

The rigors of training camp tend to reduce the quality of play as camp goes on, Schiano said, insisting players are working through the mistakes in a way that encourages him about the future.

"They gave effort,'' Schiano said. "It's not like they didn't try, and that's good. That's what I want. I want to see them fight through it.''

One who was unable to fight through the workout Tuesday was

Tight end Luke Stocker, however, was unable to fight through Tuesday's workout. He left Monday's practice early and watched from the sideline while wearing shorts and a jersey on Tuesday.

Schiano did not say what kept Stocker off the field, but said the team plans to have him checked out today to determine the severity of the problem and a future game plan for his activity.